There are two basic faceplate panel contours utilized commercially for rectangular CRT's of screen sizes greater than about a 9-inch (22.9 cm) diagonal: spherical, and cylindrical. Although flat contours are possible, the added thickness and weight of the faceplate panel required to maintain the same envelope strength are undesirable. Furthermore, if a flat faceplate CRT is a shadow mask color picture tube, the additional weight and complexity of an appropriate shadow mask also are undesirable.
The present invention provides a novel curved faceplate panel contour that is neither spherical nor cylindrical, but that can create an illusion to a viewer of being flat.